WASHINGTON — Lawyers for President Donald Trump have advised him against sitting down for a wide-ranging interview with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, according to four people briefed on the matter, raising the specter of a monthslong court battle over whether the president must answer questions under oath.

His lawyers are concerned that the president, who has a history of making false statements and contradicting himself, could be charged with lying to investigators. Their stance puts them at odds with Trump, who has said publicly and privately that he is eager to speak with Mueller as part of the investigation into possible ties between his associates and Russia’s election interference, and whether he obstructed justice.

But John Dowd, the longtime Washington defense lawyer hired last summer to represent Trump in the investigation, wants to rebuff an interview request, as do Dowd’s deputy, Jay Sekulow, and many West Wing advisers, according to the four people. The lawyers and aides believe the special counsel might be unwilling to subpoena the president and set off a showdown with the White House that Mueller could lose in court.

This combination of pictures shows files photos of FBI Director Robert Mueller and US President Donald Trump.SAUL LOEB, BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

They are convinced that Mueller lacks the legal standing to question Trump about some of the matters he is investigating, like the president’s role in providing a misleading response last summer to a New York Times story about a meeting Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. had with Russians offering dirt on Hillary Clinton.

The advisers have also argued that on other matters — like the allegations that the president asked the former FBI director, James B. Comey, to end the investigation into the former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn — the president acted within his constitutional authority and cannot be questioned about acts that were legal.

One of the few voices arguing for cooperating with Mueller is Ty Cobb, the White House lawyer whom Trump also brought on to deal with Mueller’s investigation. Since Cobb was hired in July, he has argued that the White House should do everything possible to cooperate with Mueller’s investigation.